


The Massive, Abandoned

by WM_WM_WM



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Bad Humor, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Creepy, Spooky, Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-24 22:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22225756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WM_WM_WM/pseuds/WM_WM_WM
Summary: A few weeks after The Florpus Incident, Zim, frightened by his lack of communication with the Tallest, storms off to visit them. However, what he'll find in The Massive will shake him to his core.
Kudos: 16





	The Massive, Abandoned

I sighed at my cluttered computer desk, which was piled to the brim with assorted machine blueprints and snack wrappers. The laboratory was dark, apart from the glowing monitor; strange shadows were cast all around the room, leaving hints of glittering metal. Various pipes, machines, and wires were all tangled chaotically on the floor. While GIR was singing a wacky tune beside me, I was hunched over my computer, scanning the screen.

"My massive brain cannot comprehend this!" I screeched, throwing my hands into the air. "Why aren't the Tallest communicating with me? Surely, they want to check up on their finest invader. But they're not responding to my emails or calls! It's been, what, a few days now. Since right after the Florpus Incident..."

Repressing guilt and shame in the back of my superior Zim-mind, I threw myself off of my swiveling chair, and stomped up to another monitor. It was glowing a light pink color, but as soon as I tapped the screen, it flashed to blue, and then black with generic text. A few more taps, and a video call icon was displayed. A loading wheel immediately joined. Biting my lip, I paced around the laboratory, my mind whirring about too many things at once. I gave it another minute before smashing my index finger on an X. I let a few swears slip from my mouth, but my PAK regenerated my finger before I was done griping. 

"What is the deal?" I moaned, "Nothing is wrong; I ran several diagnostics."

Tapping my finger on my chin, I sulked around a section of the floor that wasn't covered in cables.

I muttered in a low voice, "There must be something I can do."

Suddenly, something clicked in my amazing brain. My eyes flew open!

"Yur-eekuh!" I exclaimed, "I can just go there! Come, GIR. We have a visit to make!"

Grabbing my robot's tiny fist, I crawled and clambered over machinery until I crossed the magenta room. I banged on the metallic, dark, pink wall, which revealed a button. GIR karate-chopped it for me. Immediately, the floor gave way; I felt my spooch drop. We shot down a skinny, silver tube, lit with white industrial lights that flashed for a second before disappearing above us. Before we knew it, we were thrown into the seat of my wonderful, trustworthy Voot Cruiser! Jabbing at the display, I set a course for The Massive. My computer confirmed the order, adjusted it's mathematics, and catapulted the lithe ship into the atmosphere. I attentively stared at the computer screen for a minute, expecting something to happen; it did not. 

I murmured, "Huh. It, uh, usually shows a message that the drones've received my course." With a nervous grin, I declare, "They must be working slowly today. Even Zim could do a better job than those, uh... Chumps! _When have I ever said chumps_...?"

I delved back into my thoughts, staring at the endless expanse of space. I could faintly see my great, if a bit small, reflection in the window. With a small "harumph," I threw my legs onto the dashboard, frowning.

Apparently GIR could sense my unease, because he screeched, "It's okay, master! I'm afraid of tuna, too!"

He then thought the most appropriate action would be to scream at the top of his lungs. With a screech of my own, I snapped his mouth shut.

"I'm not scared," I unconfidently stated, "I'm brooding."

I toyed with the pronunciation of brooding, before settling on one that stressed the oo's. Satisfied, I sank further into my stiff chair. Scanning one of the screens, I read that the destination was going to take an hour.

With a sigh, I halfheartedly declared, "GIR, I'm going to take a nap. Rouse me when we're there."

But I could not rest. I twisted and writhed in a pile of blankets I stuffed behind the seat. Even though I tuned out my faithful robot's whistling, my blood was pumping with anxiety. Grumbling an Irken curse under my breath, I stuffed a blanket over my face, but that only made me breathe in dog hair. Why all of my blankets were covered in dog hair was a mystery that had me reasoning and reckoning for the whole ride. I was busy dusting off my admirable uniform, when GIR screeched at me. Scrambling to my seat, I took a hold of the controls just in time! I yanked the handle upwards, making the cruiser veer upwards. After a minute of bobbling in outer space, we finally reached the Landing Bay of The Massive. It was an ovular hole that was poked into the side of the giant spaceship. Compared to the humble Voot Cruiser, it was enormous. Compared to The Massive, and it was a mere pore on it's skin. With an agitated frown, there was one thing that I immediately recognized.

"Uh, GIR?" I nervously asked him, though he barely recognized my presence, "Are the bay doors supposed to be open? I'm, uh, supposed to send a code to activate them."

My brain bubbled and broiled, feeling like black tar. A nasty taste was forming in my mouth.

"Wow, they're super lazy today! Sooooo lazy. Plebeians!" I cried, posing to make myself feel confident. I added, unassured, "What _is_ a Plebeian, anyway?"

Nobody answered my question, which was fine, I didn't feel hurt at all. Not one bit. Pushing and pulling the controls, I rocked the ship into a steady position, and then launched the parking gear. I jabbed a few buttons, and slammed open the door. A ring of pressurized air outlined the opening door. I hoped it was supposed to do that, because I had no clue in my genius Zim-brain. With my blood buzzing like bees, I took one small step for Irken-kind. I didn't die, which relaxed my glorious, if a bit short, body. With GIR sticking close by my legs, I treaded deeper into the ship. We stepped into a dark hall, the only lights being faint "EMERGENCY" neon lights buzzing at the top of doorways. Even though I could barely distinguish a wall and another entrance, I knew the way by instinct. My quaking feet were taking steps for me. We turned a few lefts, than a few rights. Every step increased the stress and confusion welling up inside me.

"I'm not scared!" I snapped to nobody in particular, "I'm doing important work; not being busy being frightened with smeet-level stuff-"

I interrupted myself to howl a blood-curling screech. The stench of death hit my nose, as I scrambled away crab-style from whatever crunchy thing I just stepped on. GIR made a tinny whine; I let out a small, weak noise of my own. Scurrying back on my feet, I slowly approached the figure. It was indescribable with the low light, though I could tell it was dead, whatever it was. Than, I saw the antennae. Irken antennae. I clapped a hand over my mouth to keep my outrageously excellent spooch from up-heaving my last meal.

"Eugh, where are the janitors? God, everybody's so lazy today!" I exclaimed. "And why does," I paused to take a deep whiff, "Why does it smell like barbecue?"

With fresh eyes, I scanned my surroundings. My eyes had adjusted slightly to the overwhelming dark, so I could pick up details my amazing Invader eyes could not a minute ago. Black marks were painted onto the walls, signalling fire had drunkenly brushed up upon them. Ash sifted like sand under my feet. The wonderful halls of The Massive were in _slight_ disarray; some were completely collapsed. The answer of why came bubbling up to my consciousness like a super-heated geyser. I grit my zipper-like teeth, grumbling, and stepped over the overcooked Irken.

Stomping, though my loud heels were dampened by the ash, I declared, "The Florpus Hole was a great plan with no repercussions whatsoever! I even acquired the... Uh..."

I stopped in my tracks. My brain churned and whirred, trying to thing of the all-important object I had stolen; my eyes lingered on another dead body, to which I turned my head away quickly. With a grunt of frustration, I continued my search. GIR and I traveled down a particularly spooky hallway, when I felt him tug on my boot.

"This place has scary ghosts. Can I hide in your backpack?" he whined.

My glorious yet unnerved mind focused so much on the word "ghosts" that I nearly missed his question.

"Eh? Oh, yeah, sure."

I gently grabbed him by the shoulder, opened the lid of my PAK, and stuffed him inside. I heard him shut himself off; a monotone voice inside his small, technologically advanced body declared so. My insides felt a little heavier, which didn't help my pitiful emotional state; my organs felt like they were growing twisted and black. With a little more weight to my step, I traveled down another copy-paste, desolate hallway. Without GIR, however, I realized just how quiet it was. Other than my footsteps, there was nothing else I could pick up with my great antennae. Not a wail of a siren, not a scurry of a vermin, not a breath, nothing. With a grimace, I clutched my gut, for sure I was going to throw up partially digested sugary carbohydrates. But I pressed on, following the route into the main chamber of The Massive.

It took a few more minutes of perfectly calculated wandering to finally reach the main doors. Dried blood oozed from under it; I did not take that as a good sign. I bashed my claws against a bio-scanner to open them, but it did no good. Gritting my teeth, I dug the tips of my fingers into the grooves where the doors met, and grounded my heels into the ground, pulling as hard as I could. It took a few heaves, and a slew of curses, but I finally managed to wrench the door open. The doors immediately snapped to the side, leaving crispy bones and bodies to collapse into the doorway. I was nearly in their crossfire! Luckily, I had just enough time to roll to the side, so that the bodies would crash to the floor instead of on me. Scraping myself off of the floor, I dusted ash and mysterious particles from my uniform. Quivering despite my effort to not appear scared, my shaky legs stepped over the charred bodies, and into the main chamber.

A sense of awe filled my organs, temporarily distracting me from the feeling of black, disgusting goo. Distant echoes of beeping computers filled the room, and the hard, clacking heels of my boots added to the somber soup. 

"He-lo? My Tallest?" I called.

My voice echoed, growing weaker with each repeat, until it faded into the void.

"Erm, anyone?"

Nobody answered.

I continued slinking across the metal pathway. Computers lined in rows to my left and right; navigation drones should've filled the empty seats. Sulking to a glitching monitor, I tapped it a few times. For a brief moment, it gave me a working picture, but as soon as it came alive, it sputtered to it's death. I gazed at my reflection in the monitor's darkness with disdain, as I was a bit too short to see my full face. In my peripheral vision, I saw a body twitch. Whipping around at light speed, and a face full of horror, I stared like prey at the deceased Irken. I spent a minute training my eyes on him, before sighing.

"Zim, how silly you are!" I criticized myself loudly, drowning out other thoughts, "You're just spooked; you're just seeing things! Focus on the self-imposed mission!"

I continued parading down the hallway, kicking up my feet in a militaristic strut.

"My Tallest!" I exclaimed.

Instead of simmering on a morbid reality, I retreated to a daydream, which was: collecting a reassuring comment, obtaining a remark of praise, acquiring a headpat, or receiving the applause of a faceless crowd. I heard a body shuffle.

Whipping around on my heels, I whispered, "Whatthefuck?"

My upper jaw clamped down on my bottom lip to keep it from trembling. Though, my legs were shaking like dry grass in a breezy field. I tentatively stepped backwards, keeping my eyes fixated on the body. Suddenly, I felt keenly aware of how many dead were strewn about. It seemed almost unnatural, as if they had crawled and flopped to where they laid. My imagination flared and went wild, but I suppressed my thoughts with a steel fist. I listened desperately, trying my hardest to pick up the slightest sounds. I traced a scraping of a foot, and the gnashing of teeth. Whimpering, I just had the fleeting idea of searching somewhere less frightening, when my feet flopped over a body. With a shameless cry, I collapsed onto my back. I barely had time to register the slight bruising of my PAK, for my eyes were boring into the singed body.

He raised his head and blinked at me.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, so loud it made my own antennae hurt. With my body pumping full of adrenaline, I scrambled on my PAK legs, over the body, to the doors I opened earlier. More and more lifeless Irkens began to shamble towards the metal walkway. My wails echoed through the large chamber, and added to the cacophony were the scraping of charred and broken legs. With no will to stop, I clambered to the door. I could almost smell the freedom. Taste the freedom.

The door snapped shut.

My amazing Invader body slammed against the steel, and my lump of an exoskeleton flopped helplessly to the ground. For a moment, I could do nothing but stare at the ceiling, and wait for my vision to stop swaying. Shakily peeling myself off of the floor, and retracting my thoroughly squashed PAK legs, I scanned my surroundings. Lifeless Irkens, now roused from the dead, were making their way towards me. They used whatever methods they could, from scraping with their fingers, to hobbling on one leg. My mind drifted from dazed to full-on panic. Screeching in pure fear, I clawed at the doors. I noticed they already had extensive claw marks, undoubtedly from the bodies now collapsed in the hall. I dug my fingers into the crack and pulled again, but this time, they didn't budge. With a grunt of frustration, I clattered my PAK to the wall, facing the horde slowly shambling towards me. I extended a laser arm, but I couldn't shoot.

"Oh my god," I muttered, voice wavering.

My PAK legs were squashed, my hands couldn't pry open the doors, my programming barred me from shooting my own kind, and my own paranoia led me to this horrible predicament in the first place.

"These door designers are awful!" I rambled, "What a sorry excuse for doors. I bet I could make better doors. You know what else I could make better? The PAK legs. So spindly and breakable-y! Speaking of my PAK, I bet I could improve the A.I. for the laser guns too-"

My monologue was interrupted by a body making a particularly aggressive lunge at me, claws open, and ready to strike. With a squeak, I knocked his face in with my boot. He scuttled to the back of the mob.

I shrieked, "It's because of everyone else's stupid mistakes that I'm going to perish because of some stupid zombies! And none of it is my fault!"

The tightly-packed horde moved closer. I could almost feel their undead breath on my skin. With a metallic screech, I slid to the floor, tightly wrapping my arms around my legs.

"It's not my fault!" I choked, unable to get a growing lump in my throat out.

A soup of dread and despair overflowed my body, Pain pricked the tips of my fingers, and the edges of my eyes. Shamelessly, I let tears spill; nobody was alive enough to judge me.

Burying my pathetic head into my knees, I hoarsely moaned, "It's not my fault."

I could hear, along with my swift heartbeat pulsating in my ears, the knit of bodies moving even closer. They clambered and clunked so close I could feel their body heat. Shivering with anticipation, I waited for my deathbed. Everything and nothing at all filled my head at once. How awful of a death this was going to be; ripped apart by my own kind. How awful of a life I've had so far. God, this was so awful. I felt an arm pin my shoulder. Shakily, I lifted my head.

An upside-down, mostly intact Irken grinned.

"Boo."

I wept silently, for I had no energy to scream. With foggy eyesight, I dropped my gaze to my knees. A wave of numbness washed over me.

"Oh, come on!" a familiar voice emanated from the upside-down undead, "Not even, like, a whimper or something."

What?

"I think you broke him, Purple," complained another.

**What?**

I jolted my head up, mind spinning with new curiosity, alarm, and confusion. The undead tapped their wrists, and transformed into mostly healed, slightly more alive Irkens. Two being of importance appeared suddenly in my view; Tallest Red and Tallest Purple stood over me, looking unamused. Disappointed and frustrated background characters scowled at me.

"M-My Tallest! Wh-whuh?" I blabbered.

Red remarked rashly, "Heh, you really did break him!"

"I'm just that good at playing pranks," Purple smartly quipped.

"Too good! We set up all the broken hallways and bodies for nothing! Now the halls just stink."

A cocktail of emotions overloaded my body. Shame, for me being a sobbing mess, relief, for not dying such a strange death, and confusion, for having my reality utterly obliterated. However, what I felt most of all was unbridled rage. A white heat canceled out my deep respect for The Tallest. It canceled out my loyalty to the empire. It cancelled out my programming, the core of my being. My veins burst, the tips of my fingers crackled with pain, my skin blazed a deep olive.

Through gritted teeth, I grouched, "You got me."

"Yep!" cheered Purple jubilantly.

The Tallest fiddled with their gauntlets for a brief moment before zooming off to the middle of the room, directing and barking at whomever. They didn't even glance at me. They didn't utter an apology, nor a grunt of pity. I quietly flexed my gloved claws, aching for a climax. However, I soon realized, as the door behind me shuddered open, that there was no ending. I shuffled to a bipedal position, turning to the hall. Various Irkens were swiftly entering and exiting the doorway, dragging the dead behind them. They paid me no attention, as if I was invisible. Unusually silent, I pivoted on my heels, and elegantly leaped over the charred. Despite my organs weighing a hundred kilograms, I moved swiftly, methodically. I yanked GIR out of my PAK, and jabbed a button on him.

"Were there any ghosts?" he asked.

I ignored him, plunking his tin body onto the floor. He quickly scrambled upright to keep up with my quick pace. With every step of my boot, my mind grew more and more plans. With every step, my off-white smile crept higher and higher on my face.

"Did you get possessed?" he mumbled,

"Silence, GIR!" I barked, tapping the edges of my fingers together, "We're going to pull a prank."

My throat uttered a low chuckle, which morphed into a laugh, which finally turned into a guttural howl of laughter. My vocal guffaws echoed through every hall and every room of The Massive. I hoped they were scared; I knew they were.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I was going to continue this, but I lost the wil to. Apologies.
> 
> Though, if someone were to peee pressure me... *shrug*


End file.
